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(Or use “Click here to listen…” link below.)IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Three more Republicans enter crowded 2016 race – we’ll tell you their positions on climate change (even if they won’t); Also, another Democrat jumps in; PLUS: May 2015 breaks new records for extreme weather… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Big Oil companies want a price on carbon. Here’s why; VIDEO: Big Oil certainly wasn’t expecting activists to do THIS; OPEC seen favoring market share over prices; 10 Billion tons of coal could erase Obama’s progress on climate change; Bonn U.N. talks seek to trim unwieldy climate change plan; E.P.A. proposal will put bigger trucks on a fuel diet… PLUS: Holding Your Breath in India: millions of Indian children have permanent lung damage from air pollution… and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- May 2015: Extreme Weather Gets Extreme-ier:
- From rainy Texas to scorching India, this has been a month of strange weather around the world (AP) [emphasis added]:
The word “stuck” provides one possible explanation.
Francis, Meehl and some other meteorologists say the jet stream is in a rut, not moving nasty weather along. The high-speed, constantly shifting river of air 30,000 feet above Earth normally guides storms around the globe, but sometimes splits and comes back together somewhere else.
…
As bad as the Texas flooding has been, the heat wave in India has been far worse — in fact, the world’s fifth-deadliest since 1900. - Record-breaking May rainfall in Texas and Oklahoma, by the numbers (Washington Post):
The wettest May on record for Texas and Oklahoma has come to a close as the states continue to fight the floods. The final tallies from the month-long deluge are as extreme as they are improbable, topping previous rainfall records by absurd amounts.
- Heatwave Toll Crosses 2300, Andhra Pradesh Reports Over 1700 Deaths (NDTV)
- India Suffers Fifth Deadliest Heat Wave in World History (Voice of America)
- Rapid Arctic ice loss linked to extreme weather changes in Europe and US (Guardian UK):
Arctic warming appears to be the prime reason behind fluctuations in the polar jet stream that is causing unusual weather, study says
- Colorado Springs sets record: May was wettest month – ever – for city (Colorado Springs Gazette)
- 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination – Candidates and Climate Change:
- Meet The Only Prominent GOP Presidential Candidate Who Accepts Climate Science (Climate Progress)
- Lindsey Graham is the best GOP contender on climate change. That isn’t saying much. (Salon)
- Lindsey Graham: Too green for the GOP? (Politco):
‘We were counseled by God to be good stewards of the environment,’ the potential White House contender says.
- What does George Pataki believe? Where the candidate stands on 10 issues (PBS Newshour):
Pataki, who co-chaired the Council on Foreign Relation’s 2007 task force on the issue, believes climate change is a real and scientifically proven. In his opinion, it is best combated through private initiatives. The former governor turned environmental consultant opposes government regulation of emissions.
- George Pataki Leads 2016 GOP Crowd……in believing in climate change action. At least, he used to. (Mother Jones)
- What does Lindsey Graham believe? Where the candidate stands on 10 issues (PBS NewsHour):
Graham sees climate change as a real event and believes it is at least partially man-made. In 2010, he worked with then-Senator John Kerry and energy companies to try and craft a market system that set some limits on carbon emissions. Following the BP oil spill, those talks fell apart, but Graham still supports the general idea.
- Lindsey Graham Should Run for President (Slate): The Republican senator from South Carolina may be the only politician who can stop global warming.
- Rick Santorum Announces New Presidential Bid, and New Focus on Middle Class (NY Times)
- What does Rick Santorum believe? Where the candidate stands on 10 issues (PBS NewsHour):
Santorum believes the earth’s climate is cyclical and changes naturally, not as a result of human activity.
- VIDEO: Santorum: ‘There Is No Such Thing As Global Warming’ (Forecast the Facts)
- 2016 Democratic Presidential Race Gets A New Entry:
- What does Martin O’Malley believe? Where the candidate stands on 11 issues (PBS NewsHour):
O’Malley believes that climate change is real and called it a “natural threat†on ABC’S “This Week†in April, distinguishing it from “man-made†threats in that interview.
- Martin O’Malley Announces 2016 Presidential Run (Huffington Post)
- ‘I’m running for you’: Martin O’Malley announces 2016 ambitions (PBS NewsHour)
- Martin O’Malley’s Embarrassing Announcement (Daily Beast):
The former governor of Maryland announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination today amid protesters and a smattering of supporters.
‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…
- Big Oil Companies Want a Price on Carbon. Here’s Why. (National Journal):
Natural-gas profits have Shell and BP, among others, calling for increased use of carbon-emissions fees ahead of a make-or-break climate summit in Paris.
- VIDEO: Big Oil Certainly Wasn’t Expecting Activists To Do THIS (Lee Camp, Redacted Tonight)
- 10 Billion Tons of Coal Could Erase Obama’s Progress on Climate Change (Motherboard):
Some 10.2 billion tons of coal, sitting on 106,00 acres of public land, have been authorized for sale by the Obama administration today.
- Bonn U.N. Talks Seek To Trim Unwieldy Climate Change Plan (Reuters):
Governments will try on Monday to streamline an 89-page draft text of a U.N. deal to fight climate change due to be agreed in Paris in December, hoping to avoid the acrimony of the last failed attempt.
- E.P.A. Proposal Will Put Bigger Trucks on a Fuel Diet (NY Times):
Inside the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory here, a mammoth contraption, with steel rollers, advanced electronics and exhaust tubes, is nearing completion.
- Coal Industry Fighting for Survival on 7 Fronts (InsideClimate News):
The ‘war on coal’ started long before Obama took office to control the costly and deadly health impacts of an otherwise cheap and abundant fuel.
- Holding Your Breath in India (NY Times):
A recent study showed that nearly half of Delhi’s 4.4 million schoolchildren have irreversible lung damage from the poisonous air.
- Companies Fight Back Against Protesters; Invoke Restitution Laws (NPR):
Duncan Tarr was arrested during a protest against an oil pipeline in Michigan. The company used crime victim restitution laws to charge Tarr for the work that couldn’t be done during the disruption.
- Crude Oil Falls as OPEC Seen Favoring Market Share Over Prices (Bloomberg):
Oil fell for the first time in three days as OPEC is seen sticking with its strategy of favoring market share over prices at a meeting this week.
- Holy Crop: How federal dollars are financing the water crisis in the West (Pro Publica):
Getting plants to grow in the Sonoran Desert is made possible by importing billions of gallons of water each year. Cotton is one of the thirstiest crops in existence, and each acre cultivated here demands six times as much water as lettuce, 60 percent more than wheat.
- Rate Of Climate Change To Soar By 2020s, With Arctic Warming 1°F Per Decade (Climate Progress):
New research from a major national lab projects that the rate of climate change, which has risen sharply in recent decades, will soar by the 2020s. This worrisome projection – which has implications for extreme weather, sea level rise, and permafrost melt – is consistent with several recent studies.
- Now’s Your Chance to Help Save the Imperiled Monarch Butterfly-and Get Paid to Do So (Take Part) [emphasis added]:
Another threat, according to Grant, has been well-intentioned individuals who have planted a tropical form of milkweed, which competes with native varieties and is not beneficial to monarchs or other pollinators.
FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page
But exactly how bad is still an open question, and a lot depends not only on how we react, but how quickly. The rate at which humans cut down on greenhouse gas emissions–if we do choose to cut them–will have a large bearing on how the world turns out by 2100, the forecasts reveal.
Restraining global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius will require changing how the world produces and uses energy to power its cities and factories, heats and cools buildings, as well as moves people and goods in airplanes, trains, cars, ships and trucks, according to the IPCC. Changes are required not just in technology, but also in people’s behavior.
“Warning: Even in the best-case scenario, climate change will kick our asses (Grist)”
It is beginning to look like no hope at all for “civilization” but I hold out either hope or hopium for some species to survive (Why Sea Level Rise May Be The Greatest Threat To Civilization – 3).